Disturbances in Mangrove vegetation and their possible influence on other biota.
The Kenyan coastline has a large tidal range of about 4 m. Consequently mangrove forests in low gradient sheltered shores exhibit zonation patterns. In near-natural conditions the distribution of some species of the biota can be related to zones of particular mangrove species across the shore but the natural shift of sediments inland, out orthe mangrove forests, causing alteration of shore levels will also alter the distribution of the biota. Thus, relating the zonation of the latter to the zones of the different mangrove species may show inconsistent relationships. Where the forest had been totally cut down, lack of shade caused differences in population densities and opportunistic colonization by halophytes which do not prefer shade conditions. In areas where shore levels had been altered through excavations, there was clear evidence of how the positions of the various biota across the shore were related to height of the shore above the datum-line because, even far away from the sea edge, excavations in the higher level salty flats supported lower shore level fauna, whereas the edges of dykes supported higher level fauna even in positions close to the sea edge.
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| Format: | Book Section biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Swedish Agency for Research Cooperation with Developing Countries (SAREC),
1993
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| Subjects: | Mangroves, Biota, Aquatic communities, Community composition, Habitat, Halophytes, Colonization, Fauna, |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1834/7158 |
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